Telescoping slide



May 3%, i967 L. Enmsma mm.

TELESCOPING SLIDE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 7, 1954 I N V E N T0135 Egon LEO Ede May 16, 1967 L. EDELSQN ETAL TELESGOPING SLIDE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 7, 1964 Fig. 3.

INVENTORS' Leo Edelsan & Albert H. Rafter BY Arthur A. March ATTORNEY 1.. EDELS'ON ETAL 3,320,003

TELESGOPING SLIDE 3 Sheets-Sheet E F 6 S Y e R w m w m mm a: E mm $2 I 1 w u e 0 dH E A aw w m L A u Am 6 Fig. 5.

ZiV/ United States Patent 3,320,003 TELESCOPING SLIDE Leo Edelson, Mamaroneck, N.Y., and Albert H. Rafter, Essex Fells, N.J., assignors to Columbian Slides Inc., Freeport, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 7, 1964, Ser. No. 380,885 3 Claims. (Cl. 3083.6)

This invention relates to sliding supports for extensible tables and the like as, for example, tables which are divided into sections to receive leaves therebetween for enlarging the size of the table. Particularly, the invention involves a novel sheet metal slide construction provided with a minimum number of parts for assemblage in various ways.

Heretofore, extensible table slides have been provided using a series of channel members slidable with relationship to one another and attachable to the underside of the sections of the extensible table. As a result of the previous construction, however, the slides at times did not move with ease but, instead, binding resulted by the contact between the various channel members. In addition, the frictional abrasive action caused the removal of protective coatings applied to metal slides with consequent problems of corrosion. Furthermore, slides often did not provide appropriate support under load conditions when extended.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a slide of such construction that the extension and collapsing of the slide will be greatly facilitated and no binding will occur even under load.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a slide structure in which there is no frictional abrasive action between slides thereby eliminating corrosion problems.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a slide of such construction that there will be no danger of breakdown or collapse of the slide and only minimal sag despite the heaviest of loads which may be applied thereto either in the closed or extended position of the slide.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a slide built up of sheet metal parts having interlocking configurations and formed so as to have tubular channels therein to increase the rigidity of the slide.

A further object is to provide low friction support means in the slide to make it easier to collapse and extend the slide and to make constructional tolerances less stringent.

A still further object is to produce a slide from a small number of interlocking parts which may be easily formed out of sheet metal.

The slide of this invention comprises a plurality of channel members, the outer ones of which have flanges to attach to different sections of a table top or the like so that when the sections of the table top are separated, the slide members will move longitudinally with respect to each other. Each of the members is formed with a longitudinal groove and abutting members are joined together so that their grooves face in opposite directions to form a hollow tube. This construction provides the slides with great torsional rigidity and vertical strength.

Between the outer flanged members are additional sliding members with interlocking flanges to permit only longitudinal relative motion between the various members. At spaced, predetermined locations along these flanges, low friction mounts providing a four point suspension under load are inserted which also enable the members to slide completely freely with respect to each other.

Other objects and advantages are set forth in greater detail in the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which- 3,320,903 Patented May 16, 1967 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the slide of the present invention;

FIG. 2. is a cross-section view of the slide of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of a portion of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows the slide of FIG. 1 with members partially separated longitudinally and maintained in the four point suspension provided by the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a different arrangement of the low friction suspension members;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of a fragment of the channel members in FIG. 5

FIG. 7 shows still another form of low friction suspension members, and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a fragment of the channel members in FIG. 7.

The slide in FIG. 1 comprises a number of parts formed out of sheet metal. At one side is a bracket 11 which may be provided with suitable mounting holes therein for attachment to the underside of one section of a separable table top. This bracket has an outwardly extending flange 12 in which such mounting holes 12:: may be placed and co-planar web sections 13 and 14 joined together by a section forming a three-sided groove 16 that extends the length of the webs 13 and 14. The web sections 13 and 14 are attached directly to web sections 17 and 18, respectively, of an adjacent channel member 19. The attachment may be made by any convenient means, for example, by welding or spot welding the web 13 to the web 17 and the web 14 to the Web 18 or by bonding these webs together by a suitable bonding agent. Between the webs 17 and 18 is a three-sided groove 21 which faces in the opposite direction from the groove 16 so that when the Webs 13 and 17 are joined and the webs 14 and 18 are joined, the grooves 16 and 21 form a closed channel which greatly increases the torsional strength of the unitary structure made up of the members 11 and 19. While these, and other grooves are described as three-sided, they may have other crosssectional shapes.

The upper edge of the web 17 is terminated below the upper edge of the web 13 and is bent over to form a flange 22 approximately at a right angle to the surface of the web 17. The purpose of placing this flange below the level of the flange 12 is to prevent frictional engagement between the upper surface of the flange 22 and the low surface of the table top section to which the flange 12 is not attached. At the bottom of the web 18 is a flange 23 similar to the flange 22 and extending in the same direction, away from the webs 17 and 18. The outer edges of the flanges 22 and 23 are bent inwardly to form flanges 24 and 26, respectively. While the flanges 22 and 24 and the flanges 23 and 26 are shown as distinct, flat flanges, they may obviously be curved so that, for example, the flange 22 may simply be a curved section of metal bent over from the edge of the Web 17 to form, with the web, a U-shaped, or more properly, a J-shaped flange, the edge of which corresponds to the section identified as flange 24 in the embodiment shown in the drawing. This same modification may be considered in the case of all similar units to be described hereinafter.

Interlocking with the channel member 19 is a channel member 27 which is similar to the channel member 19 and has two Webs 28 and 29 joined together by a groove 31 and having outwardly extending flanges 32 and 33 facing the flanges 23 and 24. However, the flange 32, instead of merely terminating in a downwardly extending flange 34, is provided with a U-shaped channel comprising, in addition to the flange 34, a flange 36 that extends parallel to the flange 32 and an upwardly extending flange 37. The latter flanges 36 and 37 fit around the lower edge of the flange 24 so that the latter rests therein. The

lower flange 33 is provided with an upwardly extending flange 38 corresponding to the downwardly extending flange 34 and a horizontally extending flange 39 corresponding to the flange 36 and a downwardly extending edge flange 41 corresponding to the flange 37 to fit around the upwardly extending flange 26 and to rest thereon. The channels formed by the flanges 34, 36 and 37 at the top of the member 27 and the flanges 38, 39 and 41 at the bottom of this member permit the member 19 to move only longitudinally with respect to the member 27. This longitudinal movement may be limited in one direction by a stop 42 bent off at one end from the groove 31 to engage either one end of the groove 21 or a similarly formed stop at some point along the channel member 19.

The web sections 28 and 29 are joined to corresponding web sections 42 and 43, respectively, of an adjacent channel member 44. As in the case of the other channel members, this one has a three-sided groove 46 between the two webs 42 and 43 so that when the latter are joined to the webs 28 and 29 the grooves 31 and 46 form a hollow stiffening channel. The webs 42 and 43 have flanges 47 and 48, respectively, extending therefrom and inwardly extending flanges 49 and 51.

*It may be seen upon close examination that the channel member 44 is identical with the channel member 19. Thus, these channel members may be formed by cutting ofl a long, properly shaped sheet metal channel into convenient lengths. However, instead of being joined to a bracket, as in the case of the channel member 19, the channel member 44 is joined to the member 27 to make, in eifect, an I-beam with a stiffening tube along the neutral axis thereof.

Another channel member 52 which is identical with the channel member 27 is slidably engaged with the member 44. The channel member 52 comprises two web sections 53 and 54 joined together by a three-sided groove 55 and provided at their outer edges with S-shaped portions comprising the outer edges of the webs 53 and 54 together with flanges 56 and 57 connected thereto, inwardly extending sections 58 and 59, flanges 61 and 62 extending from the inwardly directed edges of the flanges 58 and 59, respectively, and outwardly directed flanges 63 and 64.

While the channel member 52 may be joined to another member identical with the channel member 44, and so on, to form as many interlocking channels as may be desired, in the usual case, three sliding members are sufiicient. Thus, the webs 53 and 54 may be joined to webs 66 and 67, respectively, which are connected by a three-sided groove 68. The upper end of the web 66 terminates in an outwardly directed flange 69 which is also provided with holes 69a for connection to the underside of the other section of the table from which the flange 12 is connected. The members 66-69 form a second bracket 71 and, in accordance with the teachings of this invention, the grooves 55 and 6S cooperate to form a hollow channel that serves as a stiffening section for the unitary structure comprising the channel member 52 and the bracket 71. The portions of the upper surfaces of the flanges 12 and 69, which are provided with the holes 12a and 69a, are on a slightly higher plane than the remainder of the flanges. The upper surfaces of the flange sections 22 and 26 are coextensible with the lower portion of the flanges '12 and 69. This construction prevents any frictional engagement between the under-surface of the table top with the movable portions of the slide.

A spring stop 90 is disposed, as shown, at the end of the respective slides to prevent any unlocking therebetween.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the brackets 11 and 71 and the channel members 19, 27, 44 and 52. In addition, this cross-sectional View shows the positioning of the four point suspension members 7275. According 4 to the present invention, these members are disposed at predetermined positions along the channel members. The provision of these members in the appropriate locations provides the four point suspension of each slide with relationship to its adjacent slide when the slides are in extended position as clearly shown in FIG. 4. This construction prevents any binding of the slide elements despite the fact that the slides, when extended, are each under abnormal load. The construction is such that there is no lateral movement between adjacent slides and virtually no sag. The slides are adapted to move freely with relationship to each other because the suspension members are of low friction material such as, for example, nylon, or similar low friction plastic.

Furthermore, by using the elements of the present invention there is no abrasive frictional action between the movable slides and, therefore, the protective coating applied to the slides is not removed and corrosion is inhibited.

In accordance with the present invention, it is to be noted that the low friction support members 72-75 do not extend the entire length of the channel member but are relatively short and so disposed as to accomplish the desired result. In order to maintain the low friction suspension members in their proper place along the slides, one end of each extends through a slot or hole provided in the flanges 36, 39, 61 and 62 of the respective slidable members.

It is to be noted that the construction is such that the upper surface of the suspension members will at all times engage the under-surface of the adjacent flanged slide member even, as aforesaid, when the slides are extended. With this construction of the present invention, a slide is provided which will not bind under load, will provide a unique and novel four point suspension of each slide member relative to the adjacent slide member when in extended relationship, and is provided with extreme load bearing characteristics due to the beam type construction hereinbefore described.

FIGURES 5 and 6 illustrate a modification of the present invention of slightly different construction but possessed of all of the advantages hereinbefore referred to. The members in FIGS. 5 and 6 have been given the same reference numerals as those applied to similar members in FIGS. 14 with the addition of a prime.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the beam like construction is found and the low friction suspension members 72'75' are inverted and are located over the edges of the flanges 24, 26', 49' and 51. Therefore, a low friction bearing support is provided between adjacent flanges sothat the slides are free to slide with respect to each other without binding under load. This construction greatly reduces the necessity for any stringent manufacturing tolerances. The spacing between the web 17' and the nearest flange 37 and all other corresponding webs and flanges is so great that it is a simple matter to keep these components from ever touching each other and creating friction.

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional view of a fragment of the structure shown in FIG. 5 and shows slots 79 and 81 in the flanges 22' and 47', respectively. As in the case of the slots shown in FIG. 3, these slots 79 and 81 maintain the low friction members 7275 in position and prevents them from sliding along the length of the channels in the sliding members. It is to be noted that the friction members are so disposed as to provide a four point suspension for the slides even when under load in extended position.

FIGURE 7 illustrates another modification of the present invention using S-shaped low friction support and suspension members 7275". All possible points of frictional engagement are thereby accommodated while permitting the flanges to be formed as close together as possible with the result that a firm structure is created which will resist distorting and destructive movements of the slide. The loW friction member 72" loops under the edge of the flange 24" and up between the latter flange and the flange 37". Thereafter, it loops over the top of the flange 37" and down between that flange and the web 17". It is preferable that the support be provided by the edge of the flange 37 and not by the lower edge of the flange 24". Therefore, a relatively large slot 82 is formed in the flange 36" and the S-shaped low friction support member 72" is formed so that it extends down through this large slot 82 suficiently to be sure that it clears the lower edge of the flange 24 to press against the lower bight of the member '72" and all support Will be obtained by the upper edge of the flange 37" acting through the upper bight of the member 72" against the under surface of the flange 22". The arrangement of the other S-shaped low friction support members 73"-'75 correspond exactly to the arrangement of the member 72" and, therefore, need not be discussed in detail. The member 73" fits in a slot 83 while the member 74" fits in a slot 84 and the member 75 fits in a slot 85.

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view of a fragment of the slide of FIG. 7 and shows the slots 82 and 84 in which the low friction support members 72" and 74", respectively, are held. The four point suspension of the present invention hereinbefore discussed is again provided in this modified form of the invention.

While this invention has been described in some detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A slide comprising a plurality of interlocking members each having two co-planar webs joined by a section forming a central longitudinal groove extending along the length thereof, the respective webs of a first pair of said members being joined together so that their grooves face in opposite directions to form a first closed tube extending along the length of the slide, the respective webs of a second pair of said members being joined together so that their grooves face in opposite directions to form a second closed tube extending along the length of the slide, the longitudinal edges of one member of said first pair being bent over away from the other member of said first pair, the longitudinal edges of one member of said second pair of members being bent over away from the other member of said second pair of members to form, with their respective webs, S-shaped cross sections interlocking with said bent-over longitudinal edges of said one member of said first pair of members, to permit only longitudinal relative movement between said first pair of members and said second pair of members; and lowfriction support members engaging and spacing apart said interlocking longitudinal edges, said low-friction support members being spaced longitudinally apart to form a suspension means between said first pair of members and said second pair of members.

2. A slide comprising a plurality of interlocking members each having two co-planar webs joined by a section forming a central longitudinal groove extending along the length thereof, the respective webs of a first pair of said members being joined together so that their grooves face in opposite directions to form a first closed tube extending along the length of the slide, the respective webs of a second pair of said members being joined together so that their grooves face in opposite directions to form a second closed tube extending along the length of the slide, one of the longitudinal edges of one member of said first pair and both longitudinal edges of the other member of said first pair being bent over away from the other member of said first pair to form a first beam structure, both longitudinal edges of each member of said second pair of members being bent over away from the other member of said second pair to form a second beam structure, the longitudinal bent-over edges of one member of said second pair of members being additionally bent to form with their respective webs, S-shaped cross sections interlocking with said bent-over longitudinal edges of the other member of said first pair of members, to permit only longitudinal relative movement between said first beam structure and said second beam structure; and low-friction support members engaging and spacing apart said interlocking longitudinal edges, said low-friction support members being spaced longitudinally apart to form suspension means between said first beam structure and said second beam structure.

3. A slide comprising a plurality of interlocking channel members each having two co planar webs joined by a section forming a central longitudinal groove extending along the length thereof, the respective webs of a first pair of said members being joined together so that their grooves face in opposite directions to form a first closed tube extending along the length of the slide, the respec tive webs of a second pair of said members being joined together so that their grooves face in opposite directions to form a second closed tube extending along the length of the slide, both longitudinal edges of each member of said first pair being bent over away from the other member of said first pair to form a first I beam structure, both of said longitudinal edges of one member of said first pair of members being bent so that they form, with their respective webs, U-shaped cross-sections, both longitudinal edges of each member of said second pair of members being bent over away from the other member of said second pair of members to form a second I beam structure, both of said longitudinal edges of one member of said second pair of members being additionally bent to form, with their respective webs, S-shaped cross-sections interlocking with said bent-over longitudinal edges of said one member of said first pair of members, to permit only longitudinal relative movement between said first I beam structure and said second I beam structure; and four low-friction support members engaging and spacing apart said interlocking longitudinal edges, said low-friction support members being spaced longitudinally apart in pairs to form four-point suspension means between said first pair of members and said second pair of members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 903,638 11/1908 Vincent 108-83 2,265,927 12/1941 Pratt 312-338 2,626,195 1/1953 Walter 308-36 2,757,051 7/ 1956 Wilmer 308-36 2,759,773 8/ 1956 Wilmer 308-36 2,844,430 7/ 1958 Bogar 308-36 2,872,261 2/1958 Bobbratz 308-36 3,097,614 7/ 1963 Duncan 108-83 3,215,475 11/1965 Manson 308-36 FOREIGN PATENTS 820,907 12/ 1937 France.

1,193,165 10/1959 France.

MARTIN P. SCHWADRON, Primary Examiner.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Examiner.

L. L. JOHNSON, Assistant Examiner. 

2. A SLIDE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF INTERLOCKING MEMBERS EACH HAVING TWO CO-PLANAR WEBS JOINED BY A SECTION FORMING A CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL GROOVE EXTENDING ALONG THE LENGTH THEREOF, THE RESPECTIVE WEBS OF A FIRST PAIR OF SAID MEMBERS BEING JOINED TOGETHER SO THAT THEIR GROOVES FACE IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS TO FORM A FIRST CLOSED TUBE EXTENDING ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE SLIDE, THE RESPECTIVE WEBS OF A SECOND PAIR OF SAID MEMBERS BEING JOINED TOGETHER SO THAT THEIR GROOVES FACE IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS TO FORM A SECOND CLOSED TUBE EXTENDING ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE SLIDE, ONE OF THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF ONE MEMBER OF SAID FIRST PAIR AND BOTH LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF THE OTHER MEMBER OF SAID FIRST PAIR BEING BENT OVER AWAY FROM THE OTHER MEMBER OF SAID FIRST PAIR TO FORM A FIRST BEAM STRUCTURE, BOTH LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF EACH MEMBER OF SAID SECOND PAIR OF MEMBERS BEING BENT OVER AWAY FROM THE OTHER MEMBER OF SAID SECOND PAIR TO FORM A SECOND BEAM STRUCTURE, THE LONGITUDINAL BENT-OVER EDGES OF ONE MEMBER OF SAID SECOND PAIR OF MEMBERS BEING ADDITIONALLY BENT TO FORM WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE WEBS, S-SHAPED 